[HLV spoilers, in case anyone wants to avoid them]
I feel worse for you than I do for me! The weird thing is, when I'm watching it I get swept away by it but then when I sit down and think about it, I'm just... I don't know. Alternatingly underwhelmed and confused and turned off by it. Which makes it very difficult to enjoy it the further I get past that first viewing, I guess, let alone write fic.
I think HLV had some very interesting ideas in it and could have actually been quite interesting - if they had been properly set up. The whole concept of the line between sensational journalism and blackmail, for instance, and the thought that proof isn't even necessary. Following up on Reichenbach, that could have been a very powerful theme. The concept that Mary isn't who she seems, that she has a dark past and that John would be drawn to her as a happily-ever-after... that would have been some interesting character work.
The more I think about it, though HLV still fails to tell a good story. It's a jumble of action rather than a jumble of sentiment but still a more or less contextless jumble. Which leaves me feeling vaguely uneasy with how much I enjoyed the series. I mean, I actually loved the drunk deductions, for some reason I can't quite nail down; intellectually it's the height of indulgence, and I keep thinking I shouldn't be enjoying it half as much as I did. But then I don't have much experience at all with actually being drunk so maybe that's part of why it's novel and funny rather than nauseous-inducing.
At the end of the day, I don't think it's entirely ruined the show for me, though at the moment there's a part of me that's glad it's over with and we can let the much-better storytellers of fandom step in and do justice to the characters. I still want to work with the characters, but I'm also more inclined to reread some of the original Doyle stories and perhaps work with the characters in that guise than Moffat's.
It's weird. So much of the show made me flat-out giddy on a first watch, and I'm still not entirely sure why. It's definitely not aging well in my mind, though. I'm not repulsed, just... disappointed. Very much so.
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branchandroot
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Date: 2014-01-31 11:21 pm (UTC)I feel worse for you than I do for me! The weird thing is, when I'm watching it I get swept away by it but then when I sit down and think about it, I'm just... I don't know. Alternatingly underwhelmed and confused and turned off by it. Which makes it very difficult to enjoy it the further I get past that first viewing, I guess, let alone write fic.
I think HLV had some very interesting ideas in it and could have actually been quite interesting - if they had been properly set up. The whole concept of the line between sensational journalism and blackmail, for instance, and the thought that proof isn't even necessary. Following up on Reichenbach, that could have been a very powerful theme. The concept that Mary isn't who she seems, that she has a dark past and that John would be drawn to her as a happily-ever-after... that would have been some interesting character work.
The more I think about it, though HLV still fails to tell a good story. It's a jumble of action rather than a jumble of sentiment but still a more or less contextless jumble. Which leaves me feeling vaguely uneasy with how much I enjoyed the series. I mean, I actually loved the drunk deductions, for some reason I can't quite nail down; intellectually it's the height of indulgence, and I keep thinking I shouldn't be enjoying it half as much as I did. But then I don't have much experience at all with actually being drunk so maybe that's part of why it's novel and funny rather than nauseous-inducing.
At the end of the day, I don't think it's entirely ruined the show for me, though at the moment there's a part of me that's glad it's over with and we can let the much-better storytellers of fandom step in and do justice to the characters. I still want to work with the characters, but I'm also more inclined to reread some of the original Doyle stories and perhaps work with the characters in that guise than Moffat's.
It's weird. So much of the show made me flat-out giddy on a first watch, and I'm still not entirely sure why. It's definitely not aging well in my mind, though. I'm not repulsed, just... disappointed. Very much so.